The Hyperion Hotel | Los Angeles, CA | Monday Evening Fandom Time
The plan for dealing with the enemies while also not giving away any information unduly to Wolfram and Hart was executed flawlessly, with Cordelia claiming perhaps more credit for it than she truly deserved, and finally evening came and they were in-character and ready to carry it out.
Gunn
"Guys, the Lilliad demons are starting their mojo on the forcefield," Gunn called, bounding down the bottom few stairs from where he'd been watching the proceedings outside from a second-floor window. Now he took up a post near the door, where he held an axe at the ready in case anyone managed to break through and get inside. "Sun's down, which means vamps can come out too. Except -- wait, they're heading for the bikers."
Fred
"What are they doing?" Fred asked from behind the desk, though she wasn't really sure she wanted to know the answer.
Gunn
"They, uh." Gunn squinted out the window some more. "They're having a brawl over who gets to kill us first."
Wesley
"We have to hold our ground," Wesley said -- a bit unnecessarily, sure, but that was Cordy's script for you.
Cordelia
"What if we can't?"
Wesley
"If we're forced to fall back, we'll make a retreat through the cellar," Wesley recited. "We can make a retreat through the sewers."
Angel
Angel picked up a flamethrower -- one of Gunn's newest drop-offs -- and put it back down. "This isn't going to work."
Wesley
"I checked it," Wesley corrected him. "It's primed and ready."
Angel
"Not the weapon," Angel said. "The plan."
Lorne
"I am so glad someone finally said that," Lorne sighed. "Because sitting here waiting to die never was much of a plan."
He glanced at Wesley -- a bit unfairly, Wes thought, because in reality his own plan would've been much more sensible than this.
"So," Lorne said with a nod to Angel, "What kind of genius idea you got hidden up that well tailored sleeve of yours, huh?"
Angel
Angel bounced his son gently in his arms, grabbed the diaper bag from where it had been hanging over the banister of the stairs, and said, "Plan is I go. Take the baby somewhere safe."
Cordelia
"What?" Cordy demanded. "Angel, you can't."
Angel
Angel ignored her. "He was born in a siege, he's not going to die in one," he reasoned.
Wesley
"But if you stay and help us fight..." Then maybe the baby wouldn't die, would he? "You said it yourself, Angel, we're in a war."
Angel
"And now I'm in a retreat," Angel said. "There's too many of them. I can get out through the sewers. With any luck I'll get a couple miles before anyone notices that I'm gone."
Cordelia
"So you're just going to leave?" Cordelia demanded. "Run away?"
Gunn
"Why not?" Gunn butted in. "That's what he's good at."
He raised his eyebrows at Angel. "Sure you don't want to fire us first? A little icing on the cake while you leave us here to do the fighting?"
Lorne
"I thought we established this was a bad, bad idea," Lorne repeated, trying and failing to catch Angel's eye. "Bad."
Angel
"No," Angel said, "you're going to be all right. Once they break the spell and storm the place they'll realize that the baby's gone and they'll go after me. Wesley, stall them if you can."
Wes gave him a nod that he hoped looked reluctant. He really wasn't very good at this.
Fred
"Angel!" Fred called, trying to really sell the act with some good, old-fashioned desparation. "Don't leave us!"
Angel, though, was already out the door.
The fight that followed was predictably fierce, with Gunn's weapons playing a significant part in Team Angel's ability to defend themselves. Meanwhile, Angel sped off with a decoy baby while the real one dozed in the hotel basement -- just within earshot of the others and in the immediate care of Lorne, whose job it was to sit by him while the others did the fighting (a strategy for which Lorne was immensely grateful). As Angel predicted, their enemies took off to find him and what they presumed was the baby, leaving the others free to head for a hospital as soon as their attackers were gone.
Not because there had been any injuries -- in point of fact, there hadn't been. Rather, they were there so that Angel's son could get his first check-up.
"I'm happy to report that you have a very healthy baby boy," the doctor said as she handed the baby to Cordelia.
Cordelia
"Oh, that's great," Cordelia said, accepting the child back from her. "But I'm not the mother."
Wesley
As the doctor made to deliver the same news item to Fred, Wesley explained hastily, "I'm afraid the mother is, ah, no longer in the picture."
The doctor cleared her throat. "I see. Well, his height and weight are in the ninetieth percentile. We gave him his vitamin K and his PKU and he's doing very well." She turned a page on her clipboard, gave a sheepish smile, and said, "We just don't seem to have his -- ah. What's his name?"
Angel
That was a stumper to Wesley, Cordelia and Fred, which was why it was convenient that at that very moment, a tired but pleased-looking Angel strode through the doors and said, "Connor. His name is Connor."
The doctor smiled as she wrote that down. "Connor. Well, thank you, Mr. Angel. And congratulations."
"Thanks," Angel said sincerely, accepting the baby back from Cordelia as the doctor left. He smiled at his son for a moment, then asked the others, "Mr. Angel?"
Fred
"Your first name is Geraldo," Fred said cheerfully.
Cordelia
"We had to tell them something," Cordy explained, peering over Angel's shoulder at Connor.
Fred
"Geraldo Angel," Fred said. "You're a pet psychiatrist with a small practice in Pacoima. Oh, and you fight crime."
She grinned, then admitted, "We just told them the name part. The rest is me having fun."
Angel
"I... I don't know what to say," Angel confessed, looking up from Connor and around at the others.
Cordelia
Cordelia seemed to have a few ideas. "How about... 'Thanks. I appreciate it, you guys rock, way to go.'"
Angel
Angel's smile increased at that. "What she said."
Gunn
At that moment, Gunn entered, wheeling a stroller with a balloon tied to the upper handle. "Got the best one a very small amount of money could buy," he declared.
Angel
Everyone 'awwed' over the stroller as Angel gently placed Connor inside, smiling at Cordelia as she helped fluff the cushion behind the baby's head. "Ready for a ride?" he asked, crouching down to look at his son.
Wesley
"Connor," Wesley said loudly. "That's a lovely name. I don't suppose you ever considered Wesley...?"
Fred
Everyone gave a loud "No" at that.
"Not to be negative or anything," Fred cut in, "but we're okay, right? Nobody else is coming after Connor or us?"
Angel
"No," Angel promised. "We're safe for the time being. Let's go home."
[[once again from angel 3x10 "dad," nfb, aaaand that's it for plot (probably) until "waiting in the wings" in february, hooray!]]
Gunn
"Guys, the Lilliad demons are starting their mojo on the forcefield," Gunn called, bounding down the bottom few stairs from where he'd been watching the proceedings outside from a second-floor window. Now he took up a post near the door, where he held an axe at the ready in case anyone managed to break through and get inside. "Sun's down, which means vamps can come out too. Except -- wait, they're heading for the bikers."
Fred
"What are they doing?" Fred asked from behind the desk, though she wasn't really sure she wanted to know the answer.
Gunn
"They, uh." Gunn squinted out the window some more. "They're having a brawl over who gets to kill us first."
Wesley
"We have to hold our ground," Wesley said -- a bit unnecessarily, sure, but that was Cordy's script for you.
Cordelia
"What if we can't?"
Wesley
"If we're forced to fall back, we'll make a retreat through the cellar," Wesley recited. "We can make a retreat through the sewers."
Angel
Angel picked up a flamethrower -- one of Gunn's newest drop-offs -- and put it back down. "This isn't going to work."
Wesley
"I checked it," Wesley corrected him. "It's primed and ready."
Angel
"Not the weapon," Angel said. "The plan."
Lorne
"I am so glad someone finally said that," Lorne sighed. "Because sitting here waiting to die never was much of a plan."
He glanced at Wesley -- a bit unfairly, Wes thought, because in reality his own plan would've been much more sensible than this.
"So," Lorne said with a nod to Angel, "What kind of genius idea you got hidden up that well tailored sleeve of yours, huh?"
Angel
Angel bounced his son gently in his arms, grabbed the diaper bag from where it had been hanging over the banister of the stairs, and said, "Plan is I go. Take the baby somewhere safe."
Cordelia
"What?" Cordy demanded. "Angel, you can't."
Angel
Angel ignored her. "He was born in a siege, he's not going to die in one," he reasoned.
Wesley
"But if you stay and help us fight..." Then maybe the baby wouldn't die, would he? "You said it yourself, Angel, we're in a war."
Angel
"And now I'm in a retreat," Angel said. "There's too many of them. I can get out through the sewers. With any luck I'll get a couple miles before anyone notices that I'm gone."
Cordelia
"So you're just going to leave?" Cordelia demanded. "Run away?"
Gunn
"Why not?" Gunn butted in. "That's what he's good at."
He raised his eyebrows at Angel. "Sure you don't want to fire us first? A little icing on the cake while you leave us here to do the fighting?"
Lorne
"I thought we established this was a bad, bad idea," Lorne repeated, trying and failing to catch Angel's eye. "Bad."
Angel
"No," Angel said, "you're going to be all right. Once they break the spell and storm the place they'll realize that the baby's gone and they'll go after me. Wesley, stall them if you can."
Wes gave him a nod that he hoped looked reluctant. He really wasn't very good at this.
Fred
"Angel!" Fred called, trying to really sell the act with some good, old-fashioned desparation. "Don't leave us!"
Angel, though, was already out the door.
The fight that followed was predictably fierce, with Gunn's weapons playing a significant part in Team Angel's ability to defend themselves. Meanwhile, Angel sped off with a decoy baby while the real one dozed in the hotel basement -- just within earshot of the others and in the immediate care of Lorne, whose job it was to sit by him while the others did the fighting (a strategy for which Lorne was immensely grateful). As Angel predicted, their enemies took off to find him and what they presumed was the baby, leaving the others free to head for a hospital as soon as their attackers were gone.
Not because there had been any injuries -- in point of fact, there hadn't been. Rather, they were there so that Angel's son could get his first check-up.
"I'm happy to report that you have a very healthy baby boy," the doctor said as she handed the baby to Cordelia.
Cordelia
"Oh, that's great," Cordelia said, accepting the child back from her. "But I'm not the mother."
Wesley
As the doctor made to deliver the same news item to Fred, Wesley explained hastily, "I'm afraid the mother is, ah, no longer in the picture."
The doctor cleared her throat. "I see. Well, his height and weight are in the ninetieth percentile. We gave him his vitamin K and his PKU and he's doing very well." She turned a page on her clipboard, gave a sheepish smile, and said, "We just don't seem to have his -- ah. What's his name?"
Angel
That was a stumper to Wesley, Cordelia and Fred, which was why it was convenient that at that very moment, a tired but pleased-looking Angel strode through the doors and said, "Connor. His name is Connor."
The doctor smiled as she wrote that down. "Connor. Well, thank you, Mr. Angel. And congratulations."
"Thanks," Angel said sincerely, accepting the baby back from Cordelia as the doctor left. He smiled at his son for a moment, then asked the others, "Mr. Angel?"
Fred
"Your first name is Geraldo," Fred said cheerfully.
Cordelia
"We had to tell them something," Cordy explained, peering over Angel's shoulder at Connor.
Fred
"Geraldo Angel," Fred said. "You're a pet psychiatrist with a small practice in Pacoima. Oh, and you fight crime."
She grinned, then admitted, "We just told them the name part. The rest is me having fun."
Angel
"I... I don't know what to say," Angel confessed, looking up from Connor and around at the others.
Cordelia
Cordelia seemed to have a few ideas. "How about... 'Thanks. I appreciate it, you guys rock, way to go.'"
Angel
Angel's smile increased at that. "What she said."
Gunn
At that moment, Gunn entered, wheeling a stroller with a balloon tied to the upper handle. "Got the best one a very small amount of money could buy," he declared.
Angel
Everyone 'awwed' over the stroller as Angel gently placed Connor inside, smiling at Cordelia as she helped fluff the cushion behind the baby's head. "Ready for a ride?" he asked, crouching down to look at his son.
Wesley
"Connor," Wesley said loudly. "That's a lovely name. I don't suppose you ever considered Wesley...?"
Fred
Everyone gave a loud "No" at that.
"Not to be negative or anything," Fred cut in, "but we're okay, right? Nobody else is coming after Connor or us?"
Angel
"No," Angel promised. "We're safe for the time being. Let's go home."
[[once again from angel 3x10 "dad," nfb, aaaand that's it for plot (probably) until "waiting in the wings" in february, hooray!]]